After two straight positive reviews, we’re back with another review of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Does this episode, titled “Isolation”, continue that streak, or does it fall back on its old ways so well mocked in this Honest Trailer? Let’s find out.
Spoilers for last night’s episode are of course discussed.
1. Rick vs. Tyreese is a Hell of a Open
I have to say, one thing that the Walking Dead does about as well as any show is the pre-credits opens. More often than not, those are the best parts of episodes. This episode was a hell of a start, as a grief and rage filled Tyreese (exceptionally well played by Chad Coleman) gets himself into a physical confrontation with Rick and Mr. Grimes…well, he gets a little sassy. After taking a couple serious blows from Tyreese, Rick unleashes hell and inarguably goes too far. In the comics, Rick and Tyreese always had an interesting relationship, and I really, truly hope this works towards establishing a little bit of that in the coming season. What happened later only did more towards building that up.
2. Red Shirt Annihilation!
One of the most amusing things about this season is undoubtedly how the show has dealt with the huge influx of new cast members. The show knew that the relocation of Woodbury residents meant two things: more cast members to introduce and more actors to pay. So what did they do? Introduce a massive contagion! This was a brilliant move, as it obviously creates dramatic tension and culls the herd at the same time. The red shirts offer an array of opportunities for the show, and boy oh boy, did they cleverly handle it.
3. Carl is All Growns Up
In the immortal sentiment of our boy Trent, our little guy Carl is all growns up. We’ve talked about how an array of characters have improved this season, but Chandler Riggs as Carl has improved just about as much as anyone this season. Riggs’ confidence in his acting is dramatically improved, and in sequences like the one where he tries to stop Hershel from going outside, its apparent that the writing room has started to see who the character is past a budding sociopath. It’s clear that they took him to the edge – even beyond – last year, and now they’re bringing him back from it. Here’s hoping he continues to improve, and at the very least, it feels like they finally have a plan for the character.
4. Oh damn! A herd!
I have established that this is certainly not my favorite show. There are a lot of flaws to it, much of which that previously linked to Honest Trailers video cut into it pretty damn accurately. However, one thing they’ve always done well? Zombies. That hopefully would be the case in a zombie show, but holy crap, this show really does them well. Make-up, performances, quantity, you name it. So how can any episode be better? An absolutely epic herd! When Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob ran into one on their supply run, I couldn’t help but get completely pumped by what happened there. Then Tyreese stopping – hammer time – instead of going once they tried to escape? Badassery. Stupidity. Awesomeness. I enjoyed that, needless to say.
5. Oh Carol
Given that in the very same review last week I talked about how creepy and weird Carol was being, its a little surprising that I didn’t connect the dots. Rick did, and when he confronted Carol about whether or not she was the one who killed Karen and David, she didn’t even try to deny it. She answered it like he asked if she had done her taxes. It was remarkably well handled, and really underlined the humanity that has been robbed of many of these characters over these past four years. As she told Rick, she’d do whatever she could to help the group survive. She proved it here, and honestly, I can’t really blame her. I have to give props to her – Melissa McBride? Kind of crushing it for the last two seasons. Another quality episode comes to an end with an unexpected, quiet showdown, and who knows what’s next after that reveal.
